Soil

5 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it.

1. The mystery of the earth's "soil pimples" remains unsolved after a centuryHundreds of bizarre, dome-shaped hills dot the prairies of the American West. Despite over 100 years of scientific digging, no one can agree on how they formed. Are they the resul…
2. How freezing groundwater creates massive, dome-shaped hills in the ArcticIn the frozen reaches of the north, the ground doesn't just sit still. Under specific conditions, the pressure of freezing water can heave the earth upward, creating massive mound…
3. The art of pickling your kitchen waste into soil goldMost composting methods require air and heat, but Bokashi takes a different path: fermentation. By creating an anaerobic environment, this Korean-originated technique allows you t…
4. The same hydrangea can bloom blue or pink, depending on your soil.Bigleaf hydrangeas are natural pH indicators. In acidic soil their flowers usually turn blue; in alkaline soil, pink or red. The switch comes from aluminium: in acid soil the plan…
5. A handful of good soil holds more living things than there are people on Earth.Healthy soil isn't dirt. A single gram can contain up to billions of bacteria and thousands of species, plus kilometres of fungal threads. Scoop up a handful and you are holding m…

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